The Louisiana Library Association presented State Librarian Rebecca Hamilton with the Anthony H. Benoit Award at their 2012 conference in Shreveport. The award is presented annually to an LLA member in the middle of their career who has made outstanding contributions to librarianship.

Since becoming the state librarian in 2005, Hamilton has helped the library increase the Louisiana Book Festival attendance to more than 25,000 and secured an $8.8 million federal Broadband Technology Opportunities grant to further the library’s mission. Hamilton oversaw the rebuilding of the Library’s internal network and backup systems, a 3‐year project that was confirmed a success during the Hurricane Gustav in 2008. The State Library never lost Internet connectivity while all other state government offices in Baton Rouge were offline. Hamilton also obtained a $12 million grant to provide temporary library facilities after storms in both Louisiana and Mississippi.

Hamilton is Louisiana’s fourth State Librarian in the agency’s 85-year history and the youngest State Librarian in the nation.